# Technical Blog Post

> Use when writing a technical blog post from raw project data like research notes, session logs, Reddit/LinkedIn drafts, code, hex dumps, or screenshots. Also use when Sam says "write a blog post about [project]" or "turn this into a post".

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-sam-dumont-claude-skills-technical-blog-post`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [sam-dumont](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/sam-dumont)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [sam-dumont](https://github.com/sam-dumont)
- **Source:** https://github.com/sam-dumont/claude-skills/tree/main/plugins/technical-blog-post/skills/technical-blog-post

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-sam-dumont-claude-skills-technical-blog-post
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Technical Blog Post from Raw Data

## Overview

A process skill for turning raw project material into a structured technical blog post. Complements `sams-voice` (which handles tone and language): this skill handles structure and workflow.

**REQUIRED:** Always invoke `sams-voice` skill alongside this one. Voice = how it sounds. This skill = how it's organized.

## When to Use

- Sam asks to write a blog post about a project
- Raw source material exists (research notes, session logs, drafts, code)
- The post is technical: "I built/decoded/reverse-engineered/automated X"

## When NOT to Use

- Opinion pieces or commentary (no raw data to process)
- Short announcements (no structure needed)
- Non-technical content

## Process

### Phase 1: Gather

Find and read all source material in the project repo. Look for:

| Source Type | Where to Find | What It Contains |
|-------------|---------------|------------------|
| README | Root | Project summary, usage, results |
| Research notes | `RESEARCH_NOTES.md`, `docs/` | Chronological narrative of discoveries |
| Format specs | `*_SPEC.md`, `*_FORMAT.md` | Technical details, struct layouts |
| Session logs | `SESSION_LOG.md` | Claude Code session summaries |
| Drafts | `.nocommit/`, `docs/drafts/` | Reddit, LinkedIn, or blog drafts |
| Code | `src/`, `*.py`, `*.go` | Implementation details |
| Tests | `tests/`, `*_test.*` | Validation approach, edge cases |
| Binary data | `*.hex`, hex dumps in notes | Raw data examples |

**Key:** Don't just read: extract the narrative arc. What was the problem? What failed? What worked? What was surprising?

### Phase 2: Extract the Story

Pull out the six-beat narrative from the source material:

1. **The hook**: What's the one-sentence version? (e.g., "Five years of telemetry trapped in a proprietary format")
2. **The problem**: Why did this matter? What was at stake? What failed before?
3. **The approach**: How was it tackled? What was the methodology? What tools?
4. **The discoveries**: What were the key technical findings? Order by "aha moment", not chronology.
5. **The validation**: How was each discovery confirmed? Real numbers, cross-checks.
6. **The result**: What was delivered? Links, numbers, concrete output.

### Phase 3: Write Using This Structure

```markdown
---
title: "[Action verb]-ing [specific thing] [qualifier]"
pubDate: YYYY-MM-DD          # Use the actual project date, not today
description: "One sentence. Specific. Includes key technologies and outcome."
tags: ["relevant", "specific", "tags"]
draft: false
---

[HOOK: 1-2 sentences. Jump straight in. No "In today's..." opener.]

## [The problem / context section]

[2-3 paragraphs: what existed, what didn't work, why it mattered.
Include real specifics: dates, model names, circuit names, file sizes.]

## [The approach / methodology]

[How it was tackled. The human-AI split if relevant.
The loop: hypothesis > test > validate > next.]

## [Technical deep-dive]

[The meat. Structured by component/layer, not chronology.
Include:]
- ASCII struct diagrams
- Hex dump snippets with annotations
- Code blocks (keep short: 5-15 lines each)
- Real numbers from real data
- Cross-validation results

[Break into subsections with ### headers for each component.]

## [Validation]

[How each discovery was confirmed with real-world data.
Specific numbers: " A dark moody digital illustration of [SCENE SPECIFIC TO THE POST'S CORE CONCEPT]. [KEY VISUAL ELEMENT 1] and [KEY VISUAL ELEMENT 2]. Color palette: deep navy (#101218), electric blue (#468CDC) accents, [ONE ADDITIONAL ACCENT COLOR RELEVANT TO THE TOPIC]. Technical illustration style, slightly stylized, 16:9 landscape, dark background suitable for text overlay.

**Rules for good prompts:**

| Rule | Why |
|------|-----|
| Anchor to the post's central metaphor | A post about binary reverse-engineering → hex dumps flowing over a race car, not a generic "code on screen" |
| Always specify dark background (#101218) | The OG template uses dark theme colors; a bright image won't blend |
| Include the accent blue (#468CDC) | Maintains brand consistency across all cards |
| Add one topic-specific accent color | Warm amber for legacy systems, orange for racing/speed, green for git |
| Say "suitable for text overlay" | Prevents the generator from filling the entire frame with detail |
| Keep it 16:9 landscape | Matches the 1200×630 OG dimensions |
| "Technical illustration, slightly stylized" | Avoids photorealism (uncanny) and pure cartoon (unprofessional) |
| Reference concrete objects from the post | Not "technology concept" but "weathered terminal connected to modern API" |

**Output format:** Include the prompt in a fenced block at the end of the blog post draft, tagged for easy extraction:

```

```

The author generates the image externally (Gemini, DALL-E, etc.), saves it as `site/public/heroes/{slug}.jpg`, and adds both fields to the frontmatter:

```yaml
heroImage: /heroes/my-post-slug.jpg
heroImagePrompt: "The full prompt used to generate this image"
```

The blog template displays the hero image above the article content with a collapsible "AI-generated image — show prompt" caption that reveals the `heroImagePrompt` text. This is intentional transparency about AI-generated visuals.

## Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| Chronological dump of session notes | Structure by component/discovery, not timeline |
| Too much Claude praise | Focus on what was built, not the tool |
| Vague "it was hard" | Specific: "tried Unix epoch, dates were 40 years off" |
| Missing validation | Every claim needs a cross-check with real data |
| Wall of code | Max 15 lines per block. Annotate, don't dump. |
| Burying the result | Concrete deliverable in first 3 paragraphs |

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [sam-dumont](https://github.com/sam-dumont)
- **Source:** [sam-dumont/claude-skills](https://github.com/sam-dumont/claude-skills)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-sam-dumont-claude-skills-technical-blog-post
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/sam-dumont
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

---
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